Member cost is $10 with advance payment; $15 at the door.
Nonmember cost is $15 with advance payment; $20 at the door.
Reservations are required. To RSVP, call (202) 775-5150,
e-mail rsvp@aiwriters.org or register online.
Please mention the event for which you are responding and your membership status.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Program 7:00-9:00 p.m., food and beverage orders from 6:30 p.m.
Venue to be announced.
THE LAST PRINCE OF THE MEXICAN EMPIRE
Who knew that Mexico once had a half-American prince? Or that this little boy’s future was hotly debated not just in Mexico but in Washington D.C. and in every court in Europe? Set in the mid-19th century when Maximilian von Habsburg was Emperor of Mexico, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire is based on the true and never before completely told story about a half-American boy who, as in a fairytale, became the heir presumptive to the throne of Mexico and then, when his American mother wanted him back, a pawn in the struggle-to-the-death over Mexico's destiny. This novel incorporates original research into what is also a very Washingtonian story, for the prince's mother, née Alice Green, was from a prominent Washington family, and his father, Angel de Iturbide, second son of Mexico's first deposed emperor, Agustín de Iturbide, had come to Washington as a young boy and eventually served as the Mexican legation's secretary.
Photographs, excerpts and more can be found at www.cmmayo.com. In her Pubspeak presentation, C.M. Mayo will detail the story behind the story of the prince and why it has been obscured for over 150 years.
C.M. Mayo's books include the widely-lauded travel memoir, Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico, and Sky Over El Nido, which won the Flannery O'Connor Fiction Award for Short Fiction. Her many other awards include three Washington Writing Prizes. An avid translator of contemporary Mexican literature, Mayo has edited the anthology Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion, a portrait of Mexico in the fiction and literary prose of 24 Mexican writers. Mayo divides her time between Mexico City and Washington D.C. She is on the faculty at the Writers Center.
"Epic in scope...impressively researched...Mayo's reanimation of a crucial period in Mexican history should satisfy history buffs and those in the mood for an engaging story brimming with majestic ambition."
— Publishers Weekly
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
Program 7:00-9:00 p.m., food and beverage orders from 6:30 p.m.
Bertucci’s—Clarendon
The Market Common
2700-2800 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
Metro: Clarendon, Orange Line
TRIPTYCH by Wendy Coakley-Thompson
Her third novel, Triptych, is described as death and infidelity straight up, with an erotic twist. Coakley-Thompson is the author of the 2004 Romantic Times award nominee Back to Life and is a contributing editor of the anthology How We Love: Letters and Lessons for the Next Generation. She has writer for fashion and lifestyle magazines and has been a Metro Connection commentator on WAMU, the Washington, D.C. National Public Radio station.
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Thursday, September 10, 2009
Program 7:00-9:00 p.m., food and beverage orders from 6:30 p.m.
Bertucci’s Restaurant
2800 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201—7012
(703) 528-9177
Metro: Orange line, Clarendon
Daydreams at Work: Wake Up Your Creative Powers by Amy Fries
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This well-researched book takes a look at why we daydream, the powerful effect daydreams have on our lives, and how we can use our daydreaming capacity to generate ideas, problem-solve, and find energy and motivation. Though many of us have sensed the connection between daydreaming and creativity, recent scientific studies are combining an abundance of anecdotal evidence to establish that when daydreaming, we are in our most creative state of mind, tapping into and connecting the most complex regions of the brain. Writers, of course, are natural daydreamers—and Fries includes many examples of and interviewers with writers who have tapped into their daydreams for their work. But daydreaming isn’t solely the province of artists, and she also includes interviews with and stories from top achievers in science, business, and athletics. Daydreams at Work also includes questions and exercises to help you determine your daydreaming style and patterns and tips for jump-starting your imagination. If you always wanted to know more about why you daydream and what it all means, now is the time to get the answers. Please bring your questions and tales of your own experiences as a daydreamer. In the meantime, you can read more about it at www.DaydreamsAtWork.com.
Amy Fries is a writer and an editor, whose articles and essays on lifestyle and workplace issues, psychology, and travel have been published in a variety of newspapers, magazines, trade publications, and literary journals. In addition, she has written over 40 articles for the health and workplace site AchieveSolutions.net. Amy’s short story, “Eating My Heart,” is featured in the anthology Enhanced Gravity: More Fiction by Washington Area Women, and her essay, “Losing My Religion,” was honored with an award in the Sarah Lawrence College Campbell Corner essay contest. She was the senior editor at Capital Books for a number of years and has taught composition and literature at George Mason University. Daydreams at Work: Wake Up Your Creative Powers (Capital Books, 2009) is her first book. She began her research into daydreaming and its connection to creativity while getting her masters in writing at Johns Hopkins University, DC campus. In addition to discussing daydreams, she will be happy to answer questions about pitching nonfiction publishers.
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